Dixie, a 37-year-old pub chef from south London, was "bad not mad", Det Supt Cundy added.

He was convicted of several offences in England during his teens and 20s, and was linked with a serious attack on a woman in Australia, where he lived from 1993 to 1999.

He lived in various parts of south London for most of his life, moving to Spain in 2002 and to Amsterdam in 2006.

He's got away with stuff for so long around the world and he thought 'I'm invincible'

Det Supt Stuart CundyMetropolitan Police

He fathered three sons, two with the girlfriend he followed to Australia, and one with Stacey Nivet, with whom he lived in Croydon in 2003.

In court, Miss Nivet described him as the "life and soul of the party" when taking drugs, but said he suffered mood swings afterwards.

Det Insp Chris LePere said: "In life he seems to have been a freeloader. He used people and then moved on."

Over the years he is known to have used the names Mark Down, Mark James McDonald, Steven McDonald and Shane Turner.

Although he "showed no shame" during the murder trial, Dixie was in tears when Surrey Police arrested him in connection with a pub brawl at his workplace, Ye Olde Six Bells in Horley, and took a DNA swab.

But he did not attempt to disappear when he was released.

Det Supt Cundy said: "He's got away with stuff for so long around the world and he thought 'I'm invincible'."

Detectives shocked

It took two weeks for Dixie's profile to be added to the national DNA database. Five hours later he was arrested for murder.

Dixie's shocking defence - that he had sex with Miss Bowman's body after finding her dead - was a surprise to detectives when it was announced at the Old Bailey.